Water bottle bag bottom fell out a couple days ago. Was making due with plastic shopping bags, a la MacGyver, but ultimately needed to repair. Found a hardware store to purchase tape akin to duct tape. The tape only sticks to itself. 😕 -Cindy
Images
Mark, you’re gonna love this. Running w da cows. Nadine
Fabulous salad for dinner!
-Cindy
Bus Pilgrims
Met a wonderful group of women yesterday from SF Bay Area. This lady, Kate, was one of the reasons yesterday was special. They are lead by a Dominican nun whose convent is associated with the school where I once worked…small world. Anyway, they are walking the Camino, being bused to the point at which they finished the previous day and picked up by the bus when they complete their current day, and returned to their hotel each evening.
Today the bus pilgrims had multiplied. I counted at least five different groups. -Cindy
Reason #233. In Spain you can get “Premium” Ice Cubes. -Mark
Reason #232 to like Spain. That’s right. 0.79€ bottles of wine. The good stuff is much more expensive of course 5.00€ ($5.60).
-Mark
-Mark
Dessert🙂 Nadine
The most beautiful thing about today was the sunrise. Goodbye Meseta, you were more awesome than I expected – Mark
Something odd about this KFC near Leon.
-Mark
Course two. More 🥔. Nadine
Lentil soup, course #1 for dinner. Even it has potatoes in it. This is a carb loaded society. Nadine
Cathedral in Leon at night. Nadine
Celebrating exactly 2weeks on Camino and half way through.
-Mark
Our stamp showing we’ve made ½ way through the Camino! Nadine
Things you Don’t expect to see on Camino. – Mark
For mom.
In Memory of a similar pic from 2104 when Allison was having massive leg/foot problems.
-Mark
Hey! In Burgos. Stop stealing MY ice cream. – Mark
Tapas anyone. – Mark
I know Allison was feeling a bit queasy, but I think death was premature in walking past us. -Mark
There’s something about Allison and the walk into Burgos. No foot problems this time but she has an upset tummy this time. In the town of Ages this morning about 3-4hrs from Burgos.
It was here I. 2014 we met Martina and Tiago. Hey guys. Hope your trip to Peru is going well.
-Mark
Happy bday tomorrow Nadine!!
-Mark
I definitely didn’t want to ask. – Mark
Albergue life! -Mark
Helma and me
Early dinner, then, bed. Sun took a lot out of me today. -Cindy
The are the fields we gleaned from. Nadine
A view from the chapel tonight. Walked 31 km today. Hard but beautiful day. I can say that now that we’re sitting and I’ve had a shower and a cup of tea. God is good. Nadine
Ready, set, go!! And we’re off!!
-Nadine
A tradition on Camino is to bring a token gift to give away. Jeff Coppley made these for us. What a nice send off accompanied by a 12th century “Pilgrim’s Blessing”. We’re on our way.
– Mark and Allison
Arrived in Roncesvalles
It’s been a long day. Not even sure how many hours I’ve been awake…only dozing on the plane and then, the train. Met some lovely folks in Madrid who were on the same flight as me. They’re starting in Astorga. But one of them spoke fluent Spanish, helping me get to the correct metro platform to the Puerta Atocha train station. Then, another man on the metro showed me how to read the train ticket and to wait until the departure was posted on the board at the station. God’s provision. I met two ladies getting off the train in Pamplona and we shared a taxi to Roncesvalles. The albergue fills up at 4pm generally. Lots of pilgrims. I’m off to explore -Cindy .
These corn bins are at almost every house.
The bi-hourly shoe adjustment! 🙂
Now isn’t that odd?
They have these here. Why don’t we have them at home. Ham flavored potato chips. Yum.
Mr and Mrs Longshadow arrived in Santiago shortly after we did and yet they set off to Finesterra just ahead of us. I admire their stamina.
Today at 9am we completed 4weeks on Camino.
I swear this looks like that same guy we saw on day one! Man, I thought we were making good time too??
The interior of the Refugio in which we are staying tonight.
Personal family silos (horrio). To store grain for the family use.
Lest anyone think Camino is always beautiful.
A picture of my wife and my shadow.
Glorious morning.
Major milestone.
The “other” best thing about Camino.
Galicia: where the X replaces the J which is pronounced like H.
Welcome to SanXil (Sahn Heel).
Last nights desert: me – a soft and sour cheese served with honey (yummy but drove the taste buds crazy), Allison – arroz con leche (rice with milk and cinnamon).
Doesn’t this look exactly like Tolkien’s sketches of Hobbiton look? I wonder if he ever went to Spain and saw both this and the hobbit “holes” posted earlier?
Gazpacho! Yum.
All I can ask is “why?”
And then !poof! We had sun.
It was THIS foggy.
Getting closer now!!
The view from here.
Watching World Cup in Villafranca.
My bride.
Last nights dinner! Allison is excited…vegetables!
Yellow.
Approaching Astorga – oh, the mountains!!
Allison walking to the moon.
Spain. The ancestral home of Hobbits??
Giving Antoni Gaudi some advice.
I like this picture.
File this under “things that don’t translate well from one culture to another”.
Those who have already decided to run with the bulls. Will I?
Tamara
Posting to our Blog. Allison’s stolen the camera.
We arrived 5min after closing.
Terry, if you are following, this one is for you. The owner of this albergue had been sent these. I knew immediately what they were and we had a fun conversation about the world being played into creation.
Moon over Castrojeriz
Look. I’m walking again!!
Allison journaling at the albergue.
I found a way to get Allison to Santiago even with hurt legs.
The “indescribable” Maseta.
Cooking an anniversary dinner for Allison on the Albergue’s hot plate.
Omelette with green pepper, onion, garlic, asparagus, tomato, and mushrooms.
Jeff, this is Maria. She is a nun in the town of Rabe de las Calzados. She loved on us for 15minutes all in “very rapid” Spanish, of which we understood only about 20%. But the fact that she loved us was evident from minute 1.
She received one of the crosses from the holy land. At first she was confused but when she understood we were giving it to her she was effusive with joy.
Bueno!
Two weeks into Camino AND our 25th anniversary.
Maseta
The view from our new hotel room I. Burgos. “Roughing it” on maybe our last night.
This guy is really a slow reader. He’s been on this same page for 3 days.
May be blurry but if you can, zoom in on the figure near the clock. It is called the “flycatcher”. At every quarter hour he hammers the chimes while opening and closing his mouth.
Love the doo or hat in the figure to the right.
This is a statue of Santiago Matamoros (St. James the Moor slayer).
Rare shot without my hat.
BEAutiful.
Some signs are less than helpful.
Spain was for some centuries under the rule of the Moors. Note the entryway of this tomb with its Mozarabic architecture.
Yes that is snow on the mountains in the background.
The morning drill – but this time with the lights on. 🙂
A private room 2 nights in a row. We’re getting spoiled. But oh so nice.
Shoes for Isabel!!!
Ouch. My feet HURT.
Tired toes, Hay castles and random ways to find your way on Camino.
We are HERE!
1 week into the Camino
Worthy if it’s own pic.
Listening to Sousa
Yummy desert.
Monastery, recently (in the last few years) closed due to a lack of support. Sad. The entryway is beautiful (zoom in) and the building has been occupied for over 1000 years.
Just Wow
Now that’s cool.
Meet Mr and Mrs Longshadow
Deserving of its own post.
This is Carolina. She is full of such joy. We met her day 1 and she have the best answer anyone has given as to her purpose on the Camino.
Jeff Copley, Carolina received the 2nd Maple cross. Her love shows in all she does.
This is David. David is a British man that rides a bike around the Camino offering first aid to Pilgrims. He does this out of love for others and asks nothing in return.
Jeff Copley, David was given one of the first Maple Crosses that you made.
In exchange, he insisted we take some wildflower seeds to spread somewhere along the Camino.
Back Post. The name of this place is Alto de Perdon. Hill of forgiveness. Great story about how it got that name…which will have to wait for later.
Something solemn. This woman from Italy died on the Camino. We pass these every so often.
Guess who we thought about when we passed this store?
For all those that wanted to know, this is a typical 6E per night Albergue.
For those who wanted to know. This is a typical 6E albergue. ‘Nuf said.
Every place that is involved in the movie The Way has a picture like this hanging up. Our private dinner with the hostess ( a teacher) was fun. She was very patient.
By the way. This is Damien demonstrating what an Irishman does when he spills a beer. He sops it up with a napkin and wrings it back into the glass.
Encouragement.
At about 15mi Allison conquers the summit and looks down on our destination of Roncevalles.
An anonymous part of the way.
We are not alone. Met several Americans French Italians Irish Korean Mexican Spanish English and a Chilean today.
Pt Orrison in the Pyrrenese.
Allison testing out the waterproofing of her pants.
St Jean Pied de Port, France
Literally our 1st step together. Wow
Due to our delay we’ll have a nice dinner this evening in St Jean Pied de Port.
Four days to Camino.
Everything is treated and ready to pack. Shown is everything I should need (other than water) for our walk on the Camino. Spiraling in Clockwise from the upper right:
- Deuter – 50L ACT-Lite Backpack
- Clothesline
- Toilet paper
- Sleeping Liner (instead of a sleeping bag)
- Sheet of silk (multi purpose) – pillowcase
- 4 Clothes pins
- Disc of rubber (sink stopper)
- Microfiber towel – cut down in size and sewn with a VT label thanks to Mrs Tina Smith!
- Pack cover
- Camera Battery Charger
- Duel USB outlet converter
- iPhone5
- Spare Battery phone/camera
- iPhone charger cord
- Spare Batter charge cord
- Sony RX100ii Camera
- 3 Half Gallon Zip Lock baggies
- 4 Quart Zip Lock baggies
- 2 Mini Bungee cords
- DryLok Bag
- 2 Rubber Bands
- Passport
- Credit Card
- Debit Card
- Microfiber Lens cleaner
- Sandals
- Merrell hiking boots
- 1sq yd bubble wrap
- Flashlight
- Marmot Rainjacket
- 2 pair quickdry shorts
- 4 pair wool socks
- 2 pair merino wool underwear
- 1 Trekking pole
- 2 Quickdry short sleeve shirts and 1 long sleeve shirt
- Tilley Hat
- Microfiber cloth
- Toiletries (Toothbrush, toothpaste, antiperspirant, medicine)
- Sunblock
- MiniTripod
- Pocketknife
- S-hook
- Spork
- 4 Tiewraps and a strip of Velcro
- Zip-off legs for shorts
- Fleece jacket
- Write-in-the rain journal w/Camino Credential inside
- (Not Shown) Mesh multipurpose bag for laundry, groceries, etc.
Total weight 17.2lbs (7.8kg) – Not bad at all.
So there you have it folks. Supplies for 5-½ weeks on the trail.
Spraying our gear with Permethrin.
4 Days to Camino
Atop Moore’s Knob
This was 6 miles into our 20.5 mile hike.
Dan River
Homepage 